This book was an accidental good find. It wasn't on my book list, meaning I bought it not really 100% sure what it was about or whether I had read a strong review in its favor, but I had vaguely remembered it and assumed I wanted it. I love these moments, when I accidentally discover what turns out to be a really awesome book.
So, it's 2039, and we have cures for the common cold and cancer. Unfortunately, the viruses that are these cures combined cause humans to die and rise again. At least there are perks to zombies shambling around. Georgia and Shaun Mason, news bloggers, have been selected to cover the story of a potential Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency. Although things start out great, as they follow a story that's going to completely change their lives, things deteriorate as they begin to uncover a vast conspiracy that's costing innocent lives.
This is a really fast-paced, exciting book, and that's taking into consideration the fact that it's really more a political thriller more than a horror story about zombies. Both elements were really well-balanced, actually, with plenty of zombie outbreak moments that had me at the edge of my seat, along with the work that came with covering the campaign and, later, the conspiracy.
Even with all the action, there was plenty of time for the characters to be really well-drawn. I especially liked Georgia and Shaun, who were both adopted by a couple who used them to further their ratings (which I thought really horrible and creepy, although their kids definitely turned out alright, all things considered). At first their co-dependence was slightly off-putting, but it began to make sense: in a world where danger lurked around every corner, it would be great to have someone whom you could always rely on and trust, which made the ending all the more heartbreaking.
On that note, I really felt like Ms. Grant captured the human element in all this. It's not all about action and zombie-shooting. Instead, the horror in how fast an outbreak can happen and affect everyone in the vicinity, including the people you care about, really became an important element. It was almost cruel, how democratic the infections were: everyone is somehow affected. It was also really cool that the effect on American culture as a whole was included. For example, you can easily tell who grew up in the era before the Rising, because they interact much more easily in spaces with windows and in crowds of people. For those who grew up after the Rising, a situation like a crowd just makes your skin crawl. There was tons of info on life post-Rising, the blood tests, and how people were forced to act in different situations, etc., which was really interesting.
I will say, though, that sometimes the explanations/technical-type language could be a little much. In general, it was really interesting, but Georgia had a tendency to go off on a long, detailed explanation about her equipment, or how she was uploading something, and I had no idea what she was talking about, except in a very vague sense. I wasn't even sure if it was a futuristic computer system, or if I was just that clueless about computers that people who have really big blogs/sites actually do stuff like this. Honestly, I'm fairly inept, so it was like something from a sci-fi story. At times, the plot was slightly interrupted because them sitting down to work would take half a chapter, and you'd get slammed with tons of info about their sight. Generally, this tapered off towards the last third of the novel, so it was actually well-balanced, but it was hard to follow at moments.
Overall, this book was a really fun read. The plotting was well-done, I loved the main characters, and seeing the alternate version of an America riddled with zombies was super interesting. Other than the info-heavy moments that were hard to follow at times, I enjoyed every moment of it.
Grade: 4/5
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